Chord playing attachment for fretted musical instruments



Jan. 21, 1969 ROUSSEL 3,422,717

CHORD PLAYING ATTACHMENT FOR FRETTED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed April 11, 1966 Sheet of 2 nwmon w'man Rouss/ WWW ATTORNEY Jan. 21, 1969 RQUSSEL 3,422,717

CHORD PLAYING ATTACHMENT FOR FRETTED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Filed April 11, 1966 Sheet 2 of 2 INVENTOR [Vbrman Roussel BY 14W HZ ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,422,717 CHORD PLAYING ATTACHMENT FOR FRETTED MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Norman T. Roussel, Rte. 1, Lutcher, La. 70071 Filed Apr. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 541,746 US. Cl. 84-317 Int. Cl. GlOd 3/00 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to new and useful improvements in chord playing attachments for fretted musical instruments such as guitars, banjos, ukuleles, mandolins, and the like, and the principal object of the invention is to facilitate easy and convenient playing of chords by simultaneous application of pressure to two, three or four strings of the instrument through mechanical means actuated by a single finger-piece, thus avoiding the conventional necessity of pressing such strings individually by the players fingers.

As such, the chord playing attachment of the invention eliminates many finger movements and affords a much simplified manner of playing or learning to play the instrument.

An important feature of the invention resides in the structural arrangement of the attachment which embodies a casing containing a plurality of independently movable, coaxially fulcrumed levers each actuated by its own finger-piece and each provided with at least two laterally spaced members for exerting pressure on at least two different strings, so as to produce a selected chord. By virtue of such levers a mechanical advantage is obtained between the lever finger-piece and the members which exert pressure on the strings, so that the player is subjected to lesser finger fatigue and may play for greater lengths of time than would be possible if pressure were applied in a direct manner or without leverage to the strings.

Another important feature of the invention resides in selective positioning of the attachment on the neck of the instrument in relation to the frets, whereby the same chord may be played in different keys.

Other advantages of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, in its efficient and convenient operation, in its adaptability to economical manufacture, and in its suitability for attachment to fretted instruments of various types.

With the foregoing more important object and features in view and such other objects and features as may become apparent as this specification proceeds, the invention will be understood from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like parts, and wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan View showing the chord playing attachment of the invention applied to the neck of a guitar, or the like;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the attachment per se, 'but also showing by dotted lines the relationship of the guitar strings thereto;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 3r-3t in the top plan view of FIG. 1, corresponding to the line 3b3b in the bottom plan view of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view of the attachment;

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of a modified embodiment; and

FIGURE 6 is a plan View, on a reduced scale, showing a whole guitar, or the like, with the attachment applied to the neck thereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the chord playing attachment of the invention is designated generally by the reference numeral 10 and is adapted for use with a stringed, fretted instrument 11 such as a guitar, banjo, ukulele, mandolin, or the like, which will be generally referred to herein as a guitar.

The chord playing attachment 10 comprises a casing 12 which has an open bottom and is intended to be positioned on the guitar neck 13 in overlying relation to the strings 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19. One end wall of the casing 12 is equipped with a pair of transversely spaced, downwardly projecting detents or pins 20 which pass between the strings 14, 15 and 18, 19 to rest against the upper surface of the guitar neck 13 and thereby support that end of the casing above the strings. The opposite end wall of the casing 12 has secured thereto an angle plate 21 carrying a transverse string engaging and blocking bar 22, the latter resting on the strings and operationally blocking off that porton of the strings between the bar 22 and the head 23 of the neck 13, as will be hereinafter explained.

Means are provided for retaining the attachment in position, such means comprising a pair of support members 24 of a curved configuration, which are secured to one side wall of the casing 12 and extend downwardly below the guitar neck 13, where they are connected together by a support bar 25. The bar 25 is provided intermediate its ends with an internally screw-threaded boss 26 accommodating a clamping screw 27, the upper end of which has a ball head 28 in rotatable supporting engagement with a concave clamping pad 29. The pad 29 is preferably equipped with a cushioning liner 29' to engage the underside of the guitar neck 13, it being understood that when the screw 27 is tightened, the support pins 20 will be brought to bear against the upper surface of the guitar neck and the blocking bar 22 will press downwardly against the strings, so that the entire attachment will be effectively held in position on the guitar neck. It will be also apparent that by simply loosening the screw 27, the attachment may be readily removed from the guitar, when use of the attachment is not desired.

In the illustrated instance where the instrument is provided with six strings (14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19), three levers 30, 31 and 32 are provided within the casing 12. Each of these levers is equipped at one end thereof with a tubular sleeve 33 and the sleeves of the three levers are pivotally mounted in coaxial, end to end relation on a cross shaft 34 which is provided in the end portion of the casing 12 adjacent the string blocking bar 22.

Downward pressure may be applied selectively to the three levers 30, 31, 32 by means of finger-pieces 35, 36, 37, respectively. These finger-pieces are carried by suitably angulated stems 38, 39, 40, respectively, which support the finger-pieces exteriorly of the casing 12 above the top wall of the casing. The stems 38, 39, 40 freely extend downwardly through openings 41, 42, 43 formed in the casing top wall and are rigidly secured to intermediate portions of the respective levers 30, 31, 32, as will be clearly apparent.

The intermediate portion of the lever 30 is provided at the underside thereof with a downwardly projecting boss or member 44 for applying pressure to the string when the finger-piece 35 is depressed. Also, the free end portion of the lever is forked as at 30' (see FIG. 2) and the forked extremities carry a pair of laterally spaced pressure applying members 45, 46 for engaging the strings 14 and 19, respectively. The members 45, 46 are preferably screw-threaded into the lever portions 30' so that they may be adjusted vertically relative to each other and to the member 44, whereby to assure that all three members 44, 45, 46 simultaneously press upon the respective strings 15, 14, 19, when the finger-piece is depressed to play a chord with those strings. Suitable cushion pads may be provided at the underside of the members 44, 45, 46 to engage the strings, if so desired.

The intermediate portion of the lever 31 is provided at the underside thereof with a downwardly projecting, transversely elongated boss or member 47 which is long enough to span and apply pressure to the strings 16, 17, 18 when the finger-piece 36 is depressed. Moreover, the lever 31 is extended beyond the member 47 as at 31' to carry a vertically adjustable member 48 which applies pressure to the string 19 simultaneously with application of pressure by the member 47 to the strings 16, 17, 18, so that by pressing the finger-piece 36, a chord may be played with the strings 16, 17, 18 and 19.

The intermediate portion of the lever 32 is upwardly offset to pass with clearance over the lever 31. The lever 32 carries a pair of transversely spaced members 49, 50 to apply pressure to the strings 17, 19 respectively, and a vertically adjustable member 51 for applying pressure to the string 18, so that a chord may be played with the strings 17, 18, 19 by pressing the finger-piece 37.

In the illustrated arrangement the respective fingerpieces 35, 36, 37 may be used to play the three major chords G, A and D, and the top of the casing 12 may be appropriately marked, as shown. The three major chords in D will enable the player to strum to any folk, country or western song.

As shown in FIG. 6, the attachment 10 is applied to the guitar neck 13 with the bar 22 blocking the strings adjacent the head 23. If the attachment is applied to the neck directly at the head, the D chord may be played in the key of D, this location of the attachment placing the bar 22 at the head 23, as indicated by the line 52. However, the attachment may be repositioned on the neck by moving it away from the head by one fret, as indicated by the line 53, in which event the D chord may be played in a different key, inasmuch as the bar 22 will block off the first fret.

Similarly, the attachment may be moved to a position indicated at 54, two frets away from the head, so that these two frets are blocked by the bar and the D chord may be played still in another key, et cetera.

FIG. 5 illustrates a slightly modified embodiment of the invention which is the same as the one already described, with exception that the finger-piece stems 38, 39' and 40 are longer than the aforementioned stems 38, 39, 40, so asto afford a greater mechanical advantage in the action of the levers 30, 31, 32 in applying pressure to the strings. As such, the attachment with longer stems may be used by children who do not have sufficient finger strength to properly actuate the levers with short stems, while the short stemmed attachment may be used by older children and adults. If desired, the stems may be removably secured to the respective levers, so that either short stems or long stems could be used with the same attachment.

Any suitable means may be employed for returning the levers 30, 31, 32 to a normal position after they have been depressed into a chord forming position, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art. One example of such means is shown in FIG. 3 where a tension spring S is extended between each of the levers and the top Wall of the casing 12, one end of each spring being hooked under its associated lever and the other end thereof being anchored in an aperture formed in the top of the casing.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A chord playing attachment for guitars and the like having strings, comprising a casing adapted for attachment to a guitar neck in overlying relation to the strings, a cross shaft provided in said casing crossing the strings, a plurality of independently movable levers disposed in the casing and mounted on said cross shaft, at least two laterally spaced pressure exerting members carried by each of said levers for engagement with at least two guitar strings respectively, and a plurality of finger-pieces disposed exteriorly of said casing and operatively connected to the respective levers.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said casing has an open bottom accommodating said pressure exerting members and also has a top wall provided with a plurality of openings, together with a plurality of stems rigidly secured to the respective levers and projecting through the respective openings, said finger-pieces being carried by the respective stems.

3. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein at least one of said two pressure exerting members carried by each of said levers is vertically adjustable relative to the other pressure exerting member.

4. The device as defined in claim 1 together with a transverse string engaging and blocking bar provided at one end of said casing.

5. The device as defined in claim 1 together with detent means provided at one end of said casing for engaging a guitar neck and supporting the casing above the strings, and a transverse string engaging and blocking bar provided at the other end of the casing.

6. The device as defined in claim 1 together with means for attaching said casing to a guitar neck, said attaching means comprising support means extending downwardly from one side of the casing below the guitar neck, a clamping screw carried by said support means, and a clamping pad rotatably engaged by said clamping screw.

7. The device as defined in claim 1 together with detent means provided at one end of said casing for engaging a guitar neck and supporting the casing above the strings, a transverse string engaging and blocking bar provided at the other end of the casing, and means for attaching the casing to a guitar neck, said last mentioned means comprising support means extending downwardly from one side of said casing below the guitar neck, a clamping screw carried by said support means, and a clamping pad rotatably engaged by said clamping screw for engagement with the underside of the neck.

8. The device as defined in claim 1 together with a plurality of tubular sleeves rigidly secured to one end of the respective levers, said sleeves being coaxial and pivotally mounted in end to end relation on said cross shaft.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,219,884 3/1917 Thingstad 84-3 17 2,117,628 5/1938 Richman 84315 2,744,433 5/1956 Rooms 843 15 608,278 8/1898 Benson 843l8 RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner.

GARY M. POLUMBUS, Assistant Examiner. 

